At The Maddux School’s Arts and Literacy Festival, classrooms are transformed into galleries displaying stunning artwork and student projects that depict an appreciation and interpretation of art from different historic periods and geographic regions. Pre-k through second grade students practice drawing, painting, using digital tools, reading, writing, and analyzing in the months leading up to the festival. Then, parents and others in the Maddux community are invited to come together and celebrate the beautiful work of young artists and thinkers. View Maddux artwork on Artsonia!
Beyond the creative and colorful works of art, the festival also showcases The Maddux School’s thoughtful and carefully implemented Integrated Arts Programming, which fuses art, writing, and social studies in an ever-widening circle of exploration. This distinctive approach has also shown documented improvements in students’ Social Emotional Learning (SEL) skill levels.
“At many schools, young students will attend an art class once or twice a week but at Maddux, art and literacy are integrated across the curriculum. We weave social studies, literacy, writing, sensory exploration with materials, and social emotional concepts like self-awareness, relationship skills and decision-making throughout each day.”
– Jenny Engel, Director, The Maddux School
Projects focus on the theme of “community,” starting small and broadening as students age. For example, the Pre-K class studied “all about me, my family and my community” learned about the dentist, and the Japanese artist Yayo Kusama, then created teeth art in the style of Kusama. Kindergarten studied the DC, Maryland and VA region to learn about important facts and symbols, then studied Dutch painter Piet Mondrian and created their own interpretation of the Maryland state flag in his style. First grade studies the United States and second grade learns about the world’s seven continents, incorporating relevant artists and writing projects as they expand their view.
Integrated Arts Facilitates SEL
A research study of the Integrated Arts Program at The Maddux School showed that students made significant gains across five SEL areas: self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision-making. The research group, including the school’s Lynn Cannon, Social Learning Coordinator, and Andrea Mullins, Director Emeritus, wrote in Early Child Development and Care that integrated arts instruction can offer a highly motivating means for students, particularly those with social cognition challenges, to:
- Develop social awareness by learning about artists’ influences
- Learn about emotions and perspective taking by discussing artists’ thoughts and feelings
- Cooperate with peers during collaborative projects
- Develop flexibility by waiting to use materials and handling projects that don’t turn out as expected
- Demonstrate empathy by giving and receiving compliments and constructive feedback
A follow-up study in 2023 analyzed observation notes and staff interviews to identify key strategies used by instructors teaching integrated arts that lead to students’ positive outcomes.
“We’ve created a curriculum that is truly unique at The Maddux School,” says School Director Jenny Engel. “We’re so pleased that our arts and literacy instruction motivates students and supports their development at this crucial time in their school journeys.”
Learn more about how The Maddux School pairs social learning and academics.
Watch the “Power of Play” video to see Maddux staff expertly facilitate meaningful play-based experiences.
